A Very Virtuous Tiramisu, with a French Twist

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Aparna lives in Goa, on the west coast of India, and Deeba lives in Gurgaon, a city in the suburbs of New Delhi.  Many Daring Bakers presumed our co-hostesses would challenge us to a traditional dessert from India, which would have been inspiring, but their choice was marvelous nonetheless.

Tiramisu's unusual name derives from an Italian morning ritual of going into a caffe and asking the barkeep for a tiramisu, something to "pick me up."  A shot of rich, thick Vov is poured, which gives the drinker energy.  Vov is made from eggs, sugar and Marsala, the same ingredients that go into the zabaglione that enriches the best tiramisu.

Tiramisu is not a challenging dessert to prepare... when you buy a container of mascarpone and packaged ladyfingers. Such laziness is not to be tolerated in this Daring Bakers' group! We were challenged to make homemade mascarpone cheese and Savoiardi, from scratch.

I was pleasantly surprised to find mascarpone so simple, and with only two ingredients:  Whipping cream and lemon juice!  The Savoiardi were also easier than expected.  Ladyfingers are light, crispy and sweet génoise cakes roughly shaped like a large finger. They are called savoiardi in Italian (meaning "from Savoy"), or in French, biscuits à la cuillère. In the UK they may be called sponge-fingers, trifle sponges or boudoir biscuits.  Ladyfingers are a principal ingredient in many French dessert recipes. Today, their most common usage is in trifles, charlottes, and tiramisu.
Creamy, homemade mascarpone and freshly baked ladyfingers...

I chose Tiramisu as one of my dishes for our Valentine's Aphrodisiac Tasting Party (posted here), since it contains two aphrodisiacs - chocolate and coffee.  For my French twist, I used Armagnac in the zabaglione, rather than Marsala wine, and added a little more Armagnac to the espresso prior to dipping the biscuits à la cuillère.  After all, it was an adult party and I wanted to 'booze up' the dessert a little more with this delicious, and healthy, French brandy.

Armagnac it is the oldest brandy distilled in France.  In the 14th century, Prior Vital Du Four, a Cardinal, claimed it had 40 virtues...

"It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion; restores the paralysed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits."

Research conducted by scientists at Bordeaux University in 2007 also supports its health benefits,  finding that moderate consumption can help protect against heart disease and obesity.  The benefits are apparently derived from the unique distillation process and aging rather than from its alcoholic content. The southwestern area of France, where Armagnac is produced, has some of the lowest cardiovascular disease rates in the world.

Looking back on our party, I do believe our spirits were enlivened, the men were joyous, Jerry was especially witty, and none of our guests suffered a heart attack after returning home to take advantage of any lingering effects of the aphrodisiacs.

I attempted a molded Tiramisu, using a glass loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Freezing for an hour or so helps to slice the pieces cleanly. To be honest, I prefer the traditional, rustic presentation, scooped out and plopped on a plate!  I apologize for the final photo, shot in a rush, during the party.

You can find the complete recipes for our Tiramisu Challenge in The Daring Kitchen Recipe Archives, here.  Thank you, Aparna and Deeba, for your Heaven on a Dessert Plate Challenge!

A Valentine's Aphrodisiac Tasting Party

On Saturday evening, we hosted our Second Annual Valentine's Aphrodisiac Tasting Party.  I provided a list of suggested aphrodisiacs to get our creative, culinary juices flowing...almonds, asparagus, avocado, basil, bananas, champagne, chiles, chocolate, coffee, fennel, figs, garlic, grapes, honey, nutmeg, oysters, pine nuts, pineapple, pistachios, rosemary, strawberries, truffles, wine, vanilla...and everyone took it from there to create a dish to share.

Last year's party was a Progressive Party, with guests moving from house to house in the neighborhood.  There are a few photos from last year archived here, but that was before There's a Newf in My Soup! was officially launched.  Progressive parties are so much fun, but this year we decided to rendezvous at our house.

I was on the fence about what to prepare, right up until the day before, vacillating between figs and chocolate.  But also, in the back of my mind, I was contemplating a nice cheese platter, and tasting spoon amuse-bouche, similar to what was offered during my recent weekend in Las Vegas.  When I'm so indecisive, it's sometimes easier to do it all!

John took the lead with the cheese board, with four different cheeses.  We also provided tastings of Honeycomb, quince paste, and Foie Gras Truffle Mousse.  Many medicines in Egyptian times were based on honey, including cures for sterility and impotence. The Greeks and Romans considered the musky scent of the rare truffle to stimulate and sensitize the skin to touch.

Next to the cheese board, I contributed my homemade Mascarpone and Balsamic Strawberry tasting spoons.  Strawberries invite love and are described in erotic literature as fruit nipples....

For a nice post on making homemade mascarpone, visit Baking Obsession's post, here.  Simply marinate the strawberries in some balsamic vinegar for about 20 minutes and serve with the mascarpone.

With my figs, I tried Thomas Keller's (Ad Hoc) Fig and Balsamic Jam.  An open fig is thought to emulate the female sex organs and traditionally thought of as a sexual stimulant...

I have not yet added Ad Hoc to my collection of Thomas Keller cookbooks, but I was inspired by Bitchincamero's adaptation of the recipe, here and Sugar & Spice's post, here.

I served the jam with toasted baguette slices and goat cheese...

In addition to the cheese platter, John prepared Crispy Asparagus Straws - asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and phyllo, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and baked.  You can find the recipe, here.  Pete and Julie also prepared a nice Asparagus platter. 

In addition to its phallic shape, asparagus is rich in vitamin E, which stimulates production of our sex hormones.  The men were encouraged to disregard the phallic shape... 

I've already blogged about the most incredible meatloaf in the world, Urban Solace's Not Your Momma's Meatloaf, here.  It was John's brilliant idea to make meatballs out of the recipe.  Loaded with aphrodisiacs - Figs, Pine Nuts, and a touch of Chile powder, and glazed with a Fig and Wine sauce, these balls of meat were delectable.  Pine Nuts have been used to stimulate the libido as far back as Medieval times...

Instead of browning the meatballs in oil on top of the stove, I tried Alton Brown's method of baking them in mini-muffin tins (one meatball in each tin) and it worked brilliantly!  Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, turning the meatballs over and rotating the pan about half way through.

I wasn't the only one with Figs and Pine Nuts as my aphrodisiacs of choice.  Carmen prepared beautiful Fig Tarts with Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton, with Pine Nuts, and an optional drizzle of Honey.  This recipe is featured in the New York Times' slideshow, "Recipes for Romance."  Sorry, my photography did a nose dive on this one, but check out the photo and recipe in the New York Times' Dining and Wine Section.  This tart was outstanding!  Rosemary is noted for its powers to increase circulation...

Carmen also seduced us with a stunning Strawberrry, Blueberry and Mango Terrine...

Kai & Hillari arrived with the most amazing Chocolate Chicken Mole Coloradito.  Kai is an extraordinary home chef and always prepares something very special.  His mole contained at least three aphrodisiacs - Chiles, Garlic and Chocolate... and was inspired by this recipe, here.

Pammy, another dear friend who is always there with her smile and a salad, and affectionately known as our Salad Queen, scored some vibrant blood oranges for her Crisp Fennel and Blood Orange Salad.  Use of fennel as an aphrodisiac dates back to the Egyptian times where it was used as libido enhancement.  Notice the erotic serving utensils....

Jerry, Diane and Dan arrived with Dark Chocolate Hearts filled with rich truffle, and a plate of Pignoli Cookies.  Although I'm not sure what recipe they used, but Giada's version, here, sounds wonderful.  In a related recipe, Emeril has his aphrodisiacs covered with his Italian Fig Cookies, here, containing figs, honey, almonds and nutmeg.

Dean, a true gentleman, arrived on my doorstep with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and  Chocolate-Covered Strawberries.  The Aztecs referred to chocolate as "nourishment of the Gods."   

I'm unable to share my dessert for the evening, until the Daring Bakers' reveal date on the 27th...but it did contain two aphrodisiacs...

Of course, the Champagne and Wine were flowing freely... several of us especially enjoyed the Sparkling Shiraz.  Wine relaxes and helps to stimulate our senses...

A bit later in the evening, after indulging in too many aphrodisiac-inspired dishes, and alcoholic beverages, Pammy stirred it up a bit with Lovers Lotto Scratch Offs.  We all scratched off our ticket and read the suggestive command...mine said, Tease erogenous zone with feather (WHAT), in the bedroom closet (WHERE), after work (WHEN)... The men were also presented with the opportunity to tear out a page from 101 Nights of Grrreat Sex: Secret Sealed Seductions for Fun-Loving Couples.   

Shortly thereafter, our friends said goodnight,  our party came to an end, and everyone went home to bed, or to sleep.  One night this week, after work, John and I will be heading to the closet...with a feather...

Bonne nuit, mon amour!